


Beautiful Wonder

by lou1992



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 1948, Amnesiac Shiro, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Athabaskan Keith, M/M, Sex in front of a fire place, Skin Walker Keith, pining shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 18:05:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14574597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lou1992/pseuds/lou1992
Summary: He started on his shirt when he felt a presence next to him. He didn’t turn to look, but he did smirk. “I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me.”A mew answered him.He did turn to look this time to smile at the rather large silvery furred lynx, which started purring and giving slow blinks. He washed soap from one of his hands to pet the animal, upping the purring. He gave a furry cheek a good scratch before running his up to pull on the black tuff of fur that stuck up at the end of its ear. The large cat pulled away and shook its’ head, giving an annoyed huff. He smiled and went back to his washing.





	Beautiful Wonder

**Author's Note:**

> It took longer than expected to get this done and I hope you like it. I did some research of my state to try and get most of my information right, but I might have missed some. I researched skin walkers and saw they kept say they were bad, so I made them good in my story. Omg, if someone did some art work for this story that would be awesome. Anyways enjoy it and comment.

A fog had rolled in through the night, blanketing the forest in a heavy mist and cooling the air. Birds chirped their morning song and fluttered from branch to branch outside his bedroom window. The sound of the bubbling brook that flowed beneath his small home on stilts woke him gently from his slumber. Light broke through the fog and filtered in through the small window, warming his naked back. He stretched much like a cat with a groaning yawn before sitting up, the blanket made from a grizzly bear’s hide pooled on his lap. 

Another yawn, another stretch, and he was up, climbing down from the loft on his hand made ladder. Naked. The cool air causing his skin to pimple. It was warmer this morning, spring having come and gone a little over a month ago. There was still a little bit of snow on the ground, but it was quickly melting and leaving dirty puddles behind. He yawned once more and made his way outside, emptying his bladder just out the door before he walked over to the pump for a drink.

There was much to do today. It was time to wash his clothes and go into town and trade some hides for money for supplies. He was running low on beans and needed more seeds to grow a vegetable garden; his seeds that he had prepared from last year got damaged during the winter thanks to the coyotes. He needed to get started on that if he wanted enough food that isn’t meat to last through the winter. He only had four, maybe five if he’s lucky, months to prepare. If anything, he could always get the akutaq recipe from Keith’s mother.

He blushed with a smile at the remembrance of Keith. Half Athabaskan, half American, but so pretty to look at. The young man actually saved his life when he was wondering around in the woods, lost, after crashing his plane. Well that’s what Keith and his mother said had happened, he couldn’t remember. Amnesia they said. And when the first words out of his mouth was Japanese, they hid that fact from everyone else. Then when he spoke perfect English, they told him to only speak English and pretend to be an Alaskan Native raised by an American father. Said he could pass off as an Aleut. Luckily his plane crashed far enough away from town that no one saw and that Keith and his mother were out hunting that day.

When he asked why, they told him Japan attacked Hawaii and were now on their way to Alaska; any Japanese civilian were being rounded up and taken to camps in the states. When he asked why his country would do that, they went on a long lecture of what has been going on that led up to the start of WW2 to now. Keith and his mother took care of him, teaching him how to properly survive on his own when the time came. They lived a mile from Anchorage, a once small town that had grown in size especially after the war, making it dangerous to go outside for long periods of time incase someone found out who he really was.

That was six years ago and he had just moved into this abandoned cabin three years ago, deciding it would be safer if he lived far enough away from civilization without being too far if anything were to happen to him. His first purchase was a horse so he could get from point A to point B faster than he would walking. There was no way he was gonna walk fifty miles, especially during the winter, with heavy loads of supplies. He thought about buying some dogs and a dog sled, but they would eat most of his supplies through the winter and he didn’t know how to properly train a sled dog.

He thought of Keith again and decided that laundry can wait, until he remembered he had no clean clothes. He groaned in annoyance at his procrastination these past few days and went back inside to grab some clothing he would wear today to wash. He pulled on his last pair of undergarments up his legs and made his way to the widest part of the brook just a hundred yards away after grabbing a block of soap made with goat’s milk and oats, glad the fog was lifting and warming up. He started on his trousers first, those taking the longest to dry, before hanging them on a rope between two trees close by.

He started on his shirt when he felt a presence next to him. He didn’t turn to look, but he did smirk. “I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me.”

A mew answered him.

He did turn to look this time to smile at the rather large silvery furred lynx, which started purring and giving slow blinks. He washed soap from one of his hands to pet the animal, upping the purring. He gave a furry cheek a good scratch before running his up to pull on the black tuff of fur that stuck up at the end of its ear. The large cat pulled away and shook its’ head, giving an annoyed huff. He smiled and went back to his washing.

While being able to hunt whatever he wanted, he promised Keith and his mother that he would not harm lynxes. The animal was sacred to their family and if he was going to be a part of their family he couldn’t harm the animal. And during one of his hunting expeditions two years ago, he ran into a lynx in a wire trap. It was still alive but barely. He cut it free and brought it back home to nurture it back to health. After that, the lynx would randomly show up, sometimes with a pheasant or ptarmigan, and sometimes would sleep by his side at night. Other times the cat would follow him around in the woods. The animal showed an intelligence that often surprised him.

“I don’t have a lot of time to play today,” he said as he hung up his shirt, glad the sun was now shiny brightly.

The cat sat there, looking at him, seeming as if it was listening to him.

“And hopefully I’ll be able to see Keith.” He flushed again as he sat down on the ground, leaning back on his hands while smiling. “Maybe one of these days you can meet him. I think you’d like him.”

The cat mewed again and laid down next to him, purring when he started to run his fingers through the soft fur. Its fur was so soft and pretty, he often shoved his face into the animal’s side, much to the cat’s dislike. And those eyes were different than the usual tan color. They were a glowing gold that looked as if they can see right through you. They often reminded him of Keith's besides the color.

He soaks in the sun as he waits.  
…

It was late by the time he reached town, but the sun was still up, making it easy to travel. Stores would be closed by now, but the bar Keith works at should still be open. A good meal and drink served by the Athabaskan sounded like heaven to him and he stayed on the outskirts of town, getting a few odd looks from the locals. Cars had taken over transportation, fewer and fewer dog sled teams coming in everyday. Horses and dogs were still a big part of life outside of town, not as many accessible roads especially to certain hunting spots or rural villages.

The lynx was long gone, having followed him until they were a few miles outside of town. He could understand that, many would gladly kill the cat for its fur. Foreigners weren’t as kind to the land as the natives.

He could see the bar up ahead and he quickened his horse to a light trot, smiling the whole time. He was glad it was on the outskirts of town, not wanting to travel through the city full of cars on his horse. He tied his horse to a post of the log fence that went around the small property and walked up the short flight of stairs to the entrance of the bar. Upon opening the heavy wooden door, his ears were filled with loud talking and shouting, pool balls clinking together. The smell of meat and seafood wafted into his nose and his stomach growled.

Cries of loss and victory caught his attention and he looked over to a corner of the bar where it was more lit to see the pool table, smirking when he saw the winner of the game. He watched as she gladly took the other gamers’ money, pocketing them in her jeans before leaving the table to sit down on one of the stools at the bar. He sat next to her, gathering her attention and she smiled in surprise.

“Tadzi! It’s been a while!” she gave him a tight hug, which he returned gladly. Tadzi was not his real name, it was a fake to protect him. His real name, from what the identification card in his wallet, said his name was Takashi Shirogane. When alone, Keith and his mother call him Shiro.

“Too long. I missed you Krolia,” he, Shiro, whispered into her ear fondly, feeling at home. They finally leaned away from each other and he took a good look at her.

Her once silky black hair was cut up to her chin with a few long strands braided at the base of her skull, a few beads and white ptarmigan feathers braided within them. Despite being in her late forties, she looked to be in her early thirties with dark skin and dark brown eyes. Thin chin stripes covered her chin, a sign of maturity and tolerance to pain, something so common among the native woman. She was wearing her Cree jacket made of rabbit hide, beads sown in patterns down the front and a white blouse beneath it. Seal fur mukluks adorned her feet.

Krolia was a true native woman. She worked hard, hunted for her food (better than most men), and was hard headed. Most other women, foreigners, didn’t like her; finding her too crude and loud. But the men liked it and often flirted with her, only to be rejected. And those who couldn’t handle rejection like a respectable man got their ass handed to them. She loved her son, Keith more than anything and did her best while being a single parent. Her husband had gone to the Klondike region in Canada looking for gold while Keith was still a young boy and never came back. Krolia knew he had passed, either by starvation or hyperthermia, but many of the town locals rudely stated he left because he could no longer be with a native; she was called other things but Shiro didn’t want to think about those crude words.

Shiro loved her greatly. She took care of him, kept his secret, and made him part of their family. She taught him all she knew about tracking, foraging, and hunting. Keith though was a better teacher at tracking and Shiro found himself excel at finding food after spending some time with the Athabaskan.

“You look as beautiful as ever,” Shiro complemented, earning a pleased grin.

“Of course.”

Shiro chuckled before ordering some food when the bartender passed by. “So where’s Keith? He not working tonight?” He took a sip of the whisky that Krolia slid in front of him and coughed as it burned down his throat.

“No, got the day off. I haven’t seen him since breakfast,” she replied as she gulped her own whisky down, giving a satisfied hiss. She then leaned in close with a look of seriousness. “You could move closer back to town. Everyone truly believes you’re an Aleut.”

Shiro shrugged. “Sure, now. But if someone gets suspicious they’ll start asking questions I probably can’t answer and having amnesia isn’t going to make anyone feel any better.” He took another sip, this time going down a little easier.

“It won’t be for too long. The war’s been over for three years now; the foreigners can’t keep up the prejudice for much longer.”

Shiro shook his head and glared at his now empty glass. “You’d be surprise. We’re human; full of shit and disappointment.”

Krolia raised an eyebrow and eyed the Asian. “Where did that come from? Normally you’re pretty optimistic.”

Shiro shrugged. “Sorry. The nightmares must have finally gotten to me.”

She sighed. “More nightmares? The same ones or something different?”

“Same. I guess my fear of being found out and captured is seeping into my dreams.”

“They’ll most likely just send you back home to Japan.”

Shiro shrugged again and stayed silent as a plate of caribou steak and cooked vegetables was placed in front of him. He didn’t say anything for a few more short moments as steam from his food wafted to his face. “I don’t want to be taken away. I like it here.”

Krolia smirked suddenly, a look in her eye told Shiro she knew something he wouldn’t like. “Like it here, or like here because of a certain someone?” She winked and Shiro hid his blush by stuffing his mouth full of seasoned potatoes.

“Enaa, stop embarrassing Tadzi,” a voice said behind them and Shiro blushed even more, hoping they hadn’t heard what was being said.

“I’m the closest thing he has to a mother; that gives me the right to embarrass him whenever I want to,” Krolia harrumphed as she crossed her arms, turning towards the newcomer.

Shiro did as well and held back a lovesick sigh. Keith was still as handsome and beautiful as he always was. His once short, dark brown hair, almost black, had grown down to his shoulders, kept short at the front to frame his face with a few strands falling over his eyes. A lonesome thin braid with a red ribbon with in it was almost hidden in the waves of his hair. Gray blue eyes still shone with mischief, skin paler than his mother’s thanks to his father’s genes. Two thin chin stripes were tattooed down the middle of his chin from a young age, showing he had reached maturity. He had a few others hidden beneath the red flannel shirt and tan pants that had certain meanings to them that Shiro couldn’t remember.

“You’re hair’s longer,” Shiro blurts out. He mentally cursed, but smiled outwardly. “I like it.”

“Yours is too,” Keith replied, taking a seat on the other side of Shiro. “Its different, but I like it. Not so much the beard though.”

It had been a long while since he last cut his hair, ignoring it to concentrate on chores. He tried to keep up with shaving, but he found it a hindrance most mornings and tended to procrastinate. He had braided his hair this morning while he was waiting for his clothes to dry and it hung over his shoulder. 

Shiro rubbed his jaw. “No? I thought I might try a new look.”

Keith rolled his eyes with a smile. “You shouldn’t hide a good looking face behind that bush; unless it’s winter.” 

The Asian did his best not to flush at the compliment and retorted, “You like my face?”

Keith blushed and hit his shoulder. “No! You’re an idiot!”

“But a good looking idiot.” Shiro laughed when Keith shoved him, almost into Krolia, who was also laughing.

“Just eat your damn food,” Keith grumped while stealing a piece of stake.

“You staying with us tonight, yes?” Krolia demanded more than asked.

Shiro chuckled with a nod. “Course, don’t I always?”

“Good, you can help in cleaning the beaver hides tomorrow morning.”

The Asian groaned, knowing there was no way in getting out of it. Krolia may have grown up in town but her parents taught her their ways, which was there was no room for slacking. If you had time, you filled it with whatever work there needed to be done. Of course she slackened a bit with Keith, wanting him to have a childhood while also learning on what he was to do when he grew up.

Shiro was barely an adult himself when he and Keith first met six years ago and what was once a small crush turned into love and pining. He loved Keith. Loved his soul, his personality, his charm, intellect, love for reading, the way he handled a needle… there was so much that Keith had in him, but the young Athabaskan didn’t notice. Shiro did. And he liked what he saw.

“Don’t worry,” Keith started as he leaned against Shiro’s shoulder. “I’ll make sure enaa isn’t too hard on you.” He stood up and patted the Asian’s shoulder. “l’ll go on ahead and fix you a cot.”

Shiro smiles. “Thank you.”

Keith nodded and headed out.  
…

It was really late by the time Shiro and Krolia made it back to her cabin. The fireplace had been filled with fresh wood and lit when they entered, warmth spreading over them. A fresh pot of tea sat on the small round table with three cups next to it. They slipped off their coats and placed them on old railroad nails embedded in the wall used as hooks for jackets. The door opened again and Keith came in with an arm full of split logs.

“About time,” the young native huffed as he started stacking the logs next to the fireplace.  
“Thought I might had to come get you.”

Keith gave a small chuckle, but it sounded empty. He even sounded a bit jealous, but maybe Shiro was imagining things. The Asian took one of the cups and took a sip, giving a quiet sigh of bliss at the taste of fireweed.

“I had to make sure Shiro’s pool skills hadn’t gotten rusty,” Krolia said as she took a seat at the table.

Keith rolled his eyes as he stood back up, propping a hand on a hip. “Well we need a good night sleep if you wanted to get started on those skins early tomorrow morning.”

Krolia shrugged and took a long drink of her tea.

Before Shiro could feel awkward and out of place, Keith called the Asian to follow him up the wooden spiral staircase to the loft where the young native sleeps. There were now two cots instead of the usual one on either side, a rug made of sea otter fur sat between them. Keith sat down on the one on the left, his, and started to take off his mukluks. Shiro did the same, but became shy when Keith started to undress until he was down to his underpants and decided to keep his own clothes on. He did that anyways whenever he stayed over.

“Maybe we’ll clean up that face of yours tomorrow,” Keith mumbled as he crawled beneath the knitted blankets.

Shiro hummed as he did the same, the room becoming dark when the young native blew out the oil lamp sitting on the night stand between the two cots. Shiro felt exhaustion suddenly come over him, finally settling in as soon as he laid down, and let his eyes close one last time. Keith said something, but he didn’t catch it and was soon snoring away.  
…

The beaver skins were done, well, as done as they could get today; they still had a long way to go. After they were done, Keith took Shiro back to the cabin and had him sit in a chair on the porch, smearing shaving cream on his cheeks, chin, and jaw and shaved the Asian clean. Once again, the young native suggested that Shiro should pluck his beard hairs like the other natives did, but once again Shiro declined, calling the young man crazy, and Keith rolled his eyes, calling him a baby. That’s what almost all native Alaskans did, including Keith.

Once Shiro was again beard free, he gathered his things, said goodbye to Krolia, and left for town to get some supplies with Keith. The native sat behind him on his horse, hands on the Asian’s waist to keep himself steady, and Shiro was glad Keith couldn’t see his blush and giddy smile. God, he had it bad.

At the small shop, Shiro filled up his saddle bags with seeds, seasonings, beans, tea, and a few other things, using the money he gathered from selling his furs. The woman, Helena, behind the counter battered her eyelashes at the two of them as she took the furs, blushing when Shiro smiled at her. He knew she had a crush on him, but sadly, his heart belonged to someone else. And that someone was buying some sewing thread for his mother.

“After this do you want to stop by that bakery and get some rhubarb pie?” Keith asked, shoving the spool of thread into his pants’ pocket.

That sounded wonderful, but there was one problem. “Isn’t it too soon to pick rhubarb?”

“This is last year’s pick that they canned.”

“Ooh, it keeps surprising me what can be canned. Such a useful thing.” Shiro chuckled when Keith rolled his eyes. He could see the other wanted to call him a fat head, but was kind enough to refrain. He may be twenty four years old, but he only remembers six of them and those six was spent learning how to survive and all the ways to do it. One of them being canning, keeping food fresh for years. “Well in that case, sure. It’ll be a date.” He said this as they walked outside, joking.

Keith tripped over his feet, but caught himself as he sputtered, becoming red in the face. “Don’t joke about that! Not many people will think you’re joking!”

Shiro smirked and lowered his voice a few octaves as he stared at the native, chin tilted to the side. “What if I don’t want them to think it’s a joke?” He yelped in pain before laughing as Keith punched him in the arm. Hard.

“Youre such a fat head!” Keith stomped ahead and Shiro followed after fetching his horse.

“But I’m your fat head, right?”

“Shut up simpleton.”

“Or what?”

Keith stopped and looked at Shiro with a very serious face. So serious it looked fake. “I won’t treat you to pie.”

The Asian gasped and slapped a hand over his heart, stumbling to his side to lean on his horse. “How could you? I thought you loved me."

They were gathering quite a few stares by this point and Shiro could tell that Keith was becoming uncomfortable by it, even if they were joking around. Homosexuality was accepted by most natives, even smiled upon, but the acceptance was becoming lost, even among the tribrd now, with the growth of foreigners and their Christian ways.

“Sorry, I’ll stop now,” Shiro said and began walking again, Keith beside him now.

“Its ok, I just don’t want you to get in trouble,” Keith replied quietly, face still flushed.

“Ill be fine. Now let’s get some pie.” The Asian gave Keith a small smile.

The two didn’t have to walk far before they made it to the bakery. There was no pie out yet, so they instead bought a couple of pastries. Treats in hand, they walked back to the outskirts of town towards Shiro’s home and talked amongst themselves.

“Too bad your mom doesn’t bake,” Shiro stated as they stood on top a large hill over looking the Turnagain Arm, the water of the inlet calm. Mountains surrounded them as far as the eye could see and Shiro couldn’t think of a more beautiful place. Well… he really couldn’t, not with the amnesia and all.

Keith chuckled, sitting down. “She hates baking. She hated doing most woman’s work too. If she was born in her family’s tribe, she would be considered a strong female that needed to marry a feminine woman to do the woman’s work while she did the man’s work.”

Shiro lifted an eyebrow, stayed standing. “What did you guys call people when they preferred the same sex?”

“Two-spirited. Too bad the foreigners fucked that up."

Shiro hummed in agreement. The silence between them was comfortable as they looked out at the scenery, seagulls crying out down at the beach. A few eagles flew by, fish caught in their talons.

Shiro took this time to let his eyes wonder over Keith’s form, taking in his beauty and calm demeanor. The young Athabaskan was leaning back on his elbows, watching a group of men fishing along the beach. Keith turned towards Shiro when he felt eyes on him and lifted an eyebrow. Shiro blushed at being caught and looked away, missing the smirk the native gave him.

Keith stood up and strutted the few feet separating them until he was almost pressed to the Asian’s chest, gathering Shiro’s attention. “You know, with the way you keep joking around and staring at me, one would think you’re in love with me.”

Shiro tensed as his face darkened, suddenly having difficulty breathing. He never knew what Keith’s sexual preference was and the native never exploited it, so Shiro figured Keith was straight, especially when he became uncomfortable whenever they joked around with the topic. The native frowned at the lack of answer or witty comment, furrowing his eyebrow at the panic in those dark gray eyes.

“You’re not actually, are you?” The silence answered everything he needed to know. “Oh my god Shiro, you are?”

The Asian looked down and to the side in guilt and embarrassment. “I should go.” He pulled away and quickly climbed onto his horse.

“Wait, Shiro.”

“I’ll see you later.” He rode off before Keith could say anything else, feeling like an idiot.  
…

Seven months had gone by and Shiro hadn’t been back to town since then. He had everything he needed to last him through the winter. If he ran out of something, he would trade with nearby villages or other trappers who lived around the area. Whatever animal he killed, he canned them for later use as well as vegetables and fruits. When he ran out of jars, he smoked and dried the meat, turning it into jerky. The furs from the animals were put to use as blankets, rugs, and covers for the windows to keep the cold out. The bones from fish and other small animals he kept to trade with the natives, glad they used them for jewelry and other things.

He was too embarrassed to make a trip all the way into town and the times Keith came over, Shiro pretended he was out. Even though the door was always open to the native, Keith would never let himself in uninvited and wouldn’t stick around out in the cold all day while waiting for Shiro. The only thing he allowed in his cabin was the lynx, who seemed to feel his sadness and would curl up with him in his bed in the loft. The lynx came over often, this winter being awful in terms of food for the cat.

“You shouldn’t mooch food off of me all the time; it’ll turn you into a lazy hunter come spring,” Shiro had joked, earning a huff of annoyance from the big cat as it cleaned its' fur.

When the lynx first came over a few weeks after what happened with Keith, the Asian told the cat everything that had happened. He used the lynx as a sounding board, though the cat always looked interested whenever he spoke, telling it everything that happened since the last time it visited. He spoke of Keith often and fondly, knowing he must sound ridiculous. But he loved Keith, so much that his heart ached.

He was currently stuck inside, a blizzard making it too dangerous to go outside, coughing from time to due to an itchy throat. If it doesn’t let up soon, Shiro was going to have to go out in it to get more wood for the fireplace. The lynx was laying in front of it, soaking up the heat. Shiro was carving a small figurine to keep himself from getting bored, it wasn’t helping very much. After two days, lynx coming and going, he was willing to risk it just to get out of the cabin.

He finished the wooden figurine in no time and he groaned, leaning back against his chair. He did everything he could think of to keep himself occupied these last few days; deep cleaning the cabin, bringing in snow to melt for water, rearranging the jars and cans in the shelves, carving things to sell, even braiding his hair in a bunch of different ways, but he ran out of stuff to do and was now coming down with cabin fever. There was one other thing he could do, but the lynx was always there whenever he thought about doing it and he wasn’t going to masturbate in front of the cat.

“You know what, fuck it.” Shiro stood up, gathering the cat’s attention, and made his way to the coat rack.

The lynx jumped up when it saw Shiro slipping on his thick coat. It mewed loudly when Shiro shoved his legs into his fur winter pants. The Asian looked up towards the cat, raising an eyebrow and said nothing as he continued to dress warmly. Shiro hesitated in pulling the hood of his coat over his head, feeling a bit flushed, and wrapped a knitted scarf around the lower part of his face, grabbing his ax. The large cat meowed loudly with a small growl.

“What’s wrong with you? If you want to go outside too, I ain’t stopping you.” He went to go open the door when the lynx jumped in front of it and growled at him, followed by a hiss. Shiro jumped back. “What the hell?! What are you doing?”

The lynx growled lowly, hunched with its fur standing on end and staring at him with intense glowing eyes.

“Move,” Shiro demanded. He got another hiss in return. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”

The lynx gave one last growl before it finally moved. Slowly, Shiro grabbed the handle of the door and opened it. The cat sprinted out and disappeared into the falling snow. Worry filled Shiro when the cat left, but he ignored it and ventured out in the forest, pulling a rope attached to a sled, barely able to see ten feet in front of him. He was starting to feel stupid now, leaving the safety of his home, but he continued until he came upon a dead tree. 

It was large and would probably take several trips to and from his cabin, if could find his cabin again. But he decided he would worry about that later after he chopped the tree down. A thought came to him as he raised his ax; what if he was still close by his home and the tree fell onto it? He lowered the ax and closed his eyes. He was being stupid, not thinking this through and putting himself in a dangerous situation. And for what? To get rid of his boredom? 

Shiro placed the head of the ax over his shoulder, grabbed the rope, and started heading back as another coughing fit hit him. His footprints hadn’t disappeared yet so he could follow those back. But after twenty feet, they were gone. Shiro cursed and wished the lynx hadn’t left. He continued, going straight, hoping he was going the right way.

He wasn’t. That all became clear after two hours had passed and darkness was starting to creep in. His legs were becoming sore after walking knee deep in snow, cursing himself for not thinking about putting on his snow shoes. He was becoming numb, despite feeling feverish, from the cold and shoved his hands underneath his armpits. He wasn’t a believer but he prayed to whatever higher being out there would give him a miracle. It didn’t happen and Shiro was exhausted, once again cursing himself for being a fat head.

He was breathing heavily and black spots were starting to cloud his vision, another coughing fit coming over him. Shiro stopped to lean against a tree, not wanting to sit down for fear of not being able to get back up. But as soon as he pressed his shoulder against the tree, he felt like he couldn’t move anymore. He let out a humorless chuckle, feeling he deserved this for unknown reasons. Maybe he was a bad guy before he lost his memories and he was finally getting what was coming to him.

He slid down the tree until he was sitting down in the snow, which wasn’t as high underneath the thick branches of the spruce. At least Keith knew how he felt. He smiled at that and allowed himself to close his eyes. They snapped open however when he heard something rustling to the side of him, using what little strength he had to pull out the large hunting knife from his belt. He relaxed though when he saw it was the lynx and knew it was his by the color of those eyes.

“There you are. I was worried something had happened to you,” Shiro said with a tired grin, letting his arm drop and the knife slipped from his hand. “Which is stupid since you can survive in this weather better than I can.”

The large cat stalked up to him and bit his mitten covered hand, tugging on it.

“Found the way home?” Shiro coughed, throat sore and feeling hot. “Wish you found me earlier, don’t think I can get back up.”

The lynx dropped his hand and looked as if it was contemplating something, maybe eating him; it would be such a waste to leave a free meal to rot.

What happened instead was the snapping of bones and the shedding of fur, limbs elongating, the animal’s form becoming human. The naked figure’s back was to him with furry ears and clawed hands, stubby tail twitching. Shiro gasped when the figure turned to face him with glowing eyes.

“Keith?”

“You idiot! I tried to warn you to stay inside and look what happened!” Keith, in all his naked glory, yelled as he stomped back over to the Asian. “It doesn’t help that you were starting to get sick before deciding to be an idiot!” He grabbed Shiro’s arm and hauled him up with surprising strength, placing him over his shoulders. “I was hoping you had changed your mind and gone back inside, but nooo. When I got back with the medicine you were gone!”

Shiro was too shocked and too tired all at once to answer as Keith ranted the whole way back to the cabin. He knew he was getting sick, but was in denail. The native opened the door easily with Shiro still on his shoulders and carried him all the way up to the loft where he laid the Asian non too gently with an annoyed huff. Keith began taking off Shiro’s outer clothing and boots after slipping on one of Shiro’s night shirts to cover his nakedness. He continued to undress him until he was down to his underpants and Shiro didn’t have the energy to blush.

“Foolish man! I can’t believe you didn’t notice the sickness coming upon you when I can easily smell it on you.” Keith disappeared over the side of the loft, the door opening and closing twice and Keith was back at his side with a rag filled with crushed ice. “You pushing yourself must have quickened it.” He placed the filled rag, the ends tied together, over Shiro’s forehead and went back down again.

Shiro listened as he Keith non too quietly investigated his home, looking for something. It became quiet minutes later. He started drifting off when he heard the creak of the ladder and Keith carefully climbed onto the loft with a steaming cup.

“Drink this. All of it,” the native demanded and helped Shiro, who was beginning to sweat, sit up.  
Shiro could hardly lift his hands to grab the cup so Keith ended up helping him with that too. The Asian grimaced at the taste of the dark liquid, but kept drinking at Keith’s insistence until the cup was empty. Keith set it aside and helped Shiro lay back down. It was quiet now, Shiro staring at the native’s ears that were now back to normal as well as his nails and eyes, tail gone.

“You probably have many questions for me,” Keith finally said after a few moments.

Shiro coughed before shaking his head. “Just one; what are you?”

Keith looked down at his crossed legs, running a hand up and down his arm in nervous habit. Shiro was about to tell him he didn’t need to tell him, but soon bit his tongue; he deserved to know. After all this time, what they’ve been through together, Shiro deserved this. Yes, people were allowed their secrets, but once they revealed those secrets it was common courtesy to explain it.

“I’m…” Keith started. “I’m a skin walker.”

Shiro looked at him in confusion. “A what?”

“Skin walker. I can change into a lynx like my mom and a few other natives from my family line.” Keith ran a hand through his hair. “Many of the natives in specific tribes can change into some form of animal, but over time a lot of tribes have stopped practicing in changing skin thanks to the influx of foreigners who have no respect when it comes to killing animals.” A frown crossed over his face as he fiddled with a loose thread of one of the many linens that covered the small loft.

“You change into a lynx?” Shiro repeated in disbelief. It still seemed unbelievable even though he saw Keith change right in front of him. “Are you some magical creature?”

The native shook his head. “I don’t know how or when skin walkers came about, I just know that I am one.”

The Asian hummed and nodded when a sudden thought came to him. “Oh my god. All those times when that lynx would come by, that was you wasn’t it?” If it was, Keith knew about Shiro’s feelings for him long before he accidentally ‘figured it out.’ His already flushed face darkened in embarrassment at the thought of everything he told Keith, having thought the lynx was just that, a big wild cat.

Keith gave a nervous laugh, looking unsure if he should tease Shiro or not. “Yes, it was.”

“Oh god.” Shiro weakly covered his face with a limp hand, feeling himself become worse. “All those times, I sounded like…” 

“A lovesick man?” Keith finished for him, this time teasing.

This made Shiro angry. All this time he knew about Shiro’s feelings and pretended to be surprised when he guessed it in his human form. “Well that explains why you get so uncomfortable whenever we joke around about being homosexual,” Shiro said through gritted teeth.

“That’s because you start it and always in public,” Keith replied with a small sigh. “I had so many people complain about our actions that I’m afraid one of these days they’re gonna do more than complain. I’m not uncomfortable because I know of your feelings for me.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything as soon as you found out?”

“Because I wanted you to tell me yourself while I was in human form. I understand now that I made a mistake and should have told you first long ago. I’m never getting love advice from enaa again.”

Shiro narrowed his now glossy eyes at the native. “Told me first? Love advice?”

Keith bowed his head and rubbed his arm again. Even though he hid his face, Shiro could still see the tips of his ears that poked through his hair and they were bright red. “On that hill, when I ‘figured out’ your feelings for me, I was going to tell you I love you too. But you ran off before I could.”

The anger within Shiro dissipated when Keith said that and felt his heart rate pick up. “You what?”

Keith looked straight into Shiro’s eyes and grabbed one of his hands in both of his. “I love you, Shiro. So much, it hurt to wait and I feel rediculous waiting for you to confess."

The Asian gasped quietly and almost jolted up when Keith leaned down and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. Shiro was too weak to do anything other than to lay there and close his eyes and when Keith pulled away, he found he couldn’t open his eyes nor hear the words the native was saying. It was quiet and he felt himself fall into a deep, feverish sleep.

…

For the next three days, Keith never left his side unless to get him fresh water, medicin, and clean his linens, washing the Asian everyday as he sweat the sickness out. Shiro woke a few times, but not for very long and not always lucid, sometimes mumbling things that Keith figured must have been from his old life.

By the forth day, Shiro woke and sat up with a hand to his head, still weak but not as he once was. He barely remembered what happened the last few days, but he did remember Keith’s confession. He looked around the loft only to see that the Athabaskan was nowhere in sight. He slowly made his way down the ladder and found Keith curled up on the rug in front of the fire in human form. The native was wearing his nightshirt still and a pair of clean underpants that were most likely Shiro’s. A large bowl of sudsy water sat to the side of him with a few forgotten articles of clothing, the rest already washed and hung up on a thin piece of rope in front of the fire to dry.

Shiro sat, more like fell, down beside Keith, knowing for a fact that the native must have changed his underpants a few times while he was sleeping. And by the feel of it, Keith must have changed his underpants this morning. He blushed at the thought of Keith seeing him naked then flushed more at remembering the other had seen him naked plenty of times before while in lynx form. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

“Look who’s feeling better,” Keith whispered sleepily, rubbing an eye as he sat up.

“And I have you to thank for that,” Shiro said with a small smile. “I would be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“You certainly owe me.” Keith returned the smile with a teasing one of his own.

Shiro lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “Oh? And what would you like?”

Keith chuckled and leaned in close until their noses touched. “I can think of a few things, but for now, we can start with a kiss.”

“I can do that, but be warned, I might be bad at it.” Shiro closed the small gap between them and placed his lips over Keith’s, shuddering in pleasure at the softness of them. 

Electricity flowed through him and he gasped, letting Keith’s tongue infiltrate his mouth. The native’s tongue was rough, almost like a cat’s, but softer, and Shiro liked the feel of it as it explored his mouth. A hand slid across his chest and passed over a nipple, making Shiro gasp louder and pull away with another shudder. Keith smirked at this and gave the dark nipple a small pinch, earning a small groan as Shiro flushed prettily.

“Looks like I found a weak spot,” Keith said heatedly and pushed the Asian to lay on the floor.

“Wait, Keith, shouldn’t we talk more about this before anything goes any further?” Shiro gasped out when the native sat on his hips and began messing with his nipples. He just found out Keith loves him before being out of for three days and now the other was attacking him before he had the chance to talk about their new relationship.

Keith furrowed his eyebrows and stopped what he was doing. “Why? You love me, I love you, you know my secret now. What other things is there to talk about?”

“I.” Shiro glanced away in embarrassment. They could talk about their growing relationship later, but there was one thing Keith had to know before they went any further. “I don’t know what I’m doing or what’s supposed to happen.”

Keith smiled gently at that and cupped the Asian’s cheek. “Its ok, I’ll show you.” He looked around the cabin before slipping off the nightshirt. “Do you have any gun oil?”

Shiro frowned in confusion at the question, but answered, “It should be in the gun cabinet.”  
Keith stood up and riffled through the cabinet until he found the small bottle. He pulled off the underpants before sitting back down on Shiro’s, who was blushing and eyeing the native’s body in lust, hips. He opened the jar, grabbed Shiro’s right hand, and lathered the oil over three of his fingers, leading them until they were pressing against his hole.

“Start with one, I’ll let you know when to add another.” Keith leaned down and gave Shiro a small kiss.

Shiro was terribly confused, especially when Keith pressed his slick fingers against his opening. Was he supposed to stick one in or something? He did just that, sliding in his index slowly, receiving a small moan in return. “Is this ok? What do I do?”

Keith, who was leaning over Shiro with hands on either side of him, nodded with a look of pure bliss. “Move your finger, thrust in and out.”

Shiro obeyed and began thrusting his finger, eyes never leaving Keith’s face. His eyes became half lidded in lust as watched the other’s eyes closed in pleasure, moaning while biting his lower lip. He felt a bump and pressed against, eyes widening when Keith jerked back on his finger and cried out while throwing his head back.

“Fuck! Yes!” Keith gasped when Shiro pressed against it again.

“It feel good?” the Asian asked, generally concerned. Keith nodded. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve heard other natives-fuck!- talk about it once.” He moaned. “Put in another finger, then scissor them to stretch me.”

“Stretch you?”

“Gotta get me open enough to get that big dick in me.”

Shiro’s eyes widened and he quickly adds another finger. He apologizes when Keith hisses in pain, but keeps going at the native’s persistence. He finds that spot again and brushes against it as he stretches out Keith, leaning up to kiss a trail from one of Keith’s nipples to the other. The native groaned deeply and leaned down so Shiro didn’t have to strain himself too much. Shiro sucked on one then the other, flicking a tongue over them before gently biting one, drawing a pleasured hiss from Keith.

Keith suddenly began making purring sounds, causing Shiro to pause and leer at the native teasingly while keeping his fingers moving. Keith opened his eyes and gave a small smirk in return, his purring often being interrupted by small moans and gasps. 

“You are so beautiful,” Shiro whispered, letting his eyes wander the native’s body.

“And you, mm, are so handsome,” Keith replied before asking for another finger. “You make me feel so good.” He gasped as a third digit entered him, feeling a little tight.

“That’s my goal.” Shiro’s breath was shaky from excitement as he watched Keith enjoy himself, pushing back against his fingers. “Are you sure I’ll fit? You feel so tight.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll tell you to stop if it becomes too much.” Keith leaned down and pressed his lips against Shiro’s with a small smile. Shiro shoved his tongue into the native’s mouth a little sloppily when Keith gasped after the Asian pressed against that spot. Their tongues pressed against each other and took turns exploring the other’s mouth. Shiro’s inexperience made it sloppy and wet with spit, but Keith still complemented him when their lips separated.

“I think I’m ready,” Keith whispered as he sat up.  
“You sure?”Shiro asked, stilling his fingers, still feeling it as a bit too soon. Keith still felt tight around his digits and the fear of hurting him calmed down the Asian’s libido, but not making him wither.

“Yes. I trust that you will stop if I tell you to.” Keith grabbed Shiro’s hand and pulled it away from him, cleaning it with the soapy water. The native grabbed the bottle of gun oil and lathered Shiro’s length with it, making sure it was quite slick. “Put your hands on my hips.”

Shiro obeyed and bit his lip when Keith grabbed his prick to keep it steady as he slowly lowered himself down onto it. The Asian groaned as tight heat surrounded him while Keith gasped in pain, but didn’t stop until he was fully seated. A hand cupped Keith’s face and the native leaned into it while trying to get used to the feeling of being full.

“You ok?” Shiro asked as he ran a gentle hand along Keith’s hip and thigh. Keith nodded, taking deep breaths. “How do you know what to do?”

The native gave a small laugh. “Some of the tribes I go to, to trade seal blubber for whale fat have a few two spirited natives and taught me what to do when I asked. Now, no more talking.” He lifted himself a bit, making Shiro gasp before letting himself fall back down slowly. “Fuck, you’re so deep,” Keith moans, rocking his hips. “And so thick.”

Shiro didn’t know where to look. His eyes kept wandering from Keith’s eyes to where they were connected, wanting to take in everything. Sweat started to gather on their skin, especially where their flesh pressed against each other, making it easier to slide his hands along the native’s body. Keith looked as if he was getting used to the feeling of Shiro being inside him and his quiet gasps and groans were becoming louder, crying out in pure pleasure.

“Shiro, take me harder,” Keith demanded as he bounces on top of Shiro.

The Asian grabbed Keith’s ass to hold him still while he started to thrust up into him. The native was surprising loud and talkative, demanding and complementing Shiro. Keith grabbed onto Shiro’s shoulders and held on as the Asian did his best to fuck up into him. The native suddenly pulled off and kneeled down on his elbows and knees by Shiro, looking at the other with lust pleading eyes. Shiro at first didn’t know what to do until Keith gave his ass a small shake and he sat up to move behind the native. He pushed back in in one slow thrust, drawing out a long moan from Keith.

Shiro wanted to say something, but nothing would come out, his tongue having trouble forming words. All he could do was gaze upon Keith’s back as he moved with in him, doing his best to bring as much pleasure to Keith as possible. He moved faster when told to, doing whatever Keith wanted him to do. He watched as Keith lowered his chest completely to the floor, head turned to the side and eyes rolled up. Shiro knew he could do what he himself wanted now that the native was feeling nothing but bliss, but this was his first time that he could remember doing something like this and didn’t want to accidentally hurt Keith.

He was starting to lose control though the closer he got to completion and concern for hurting Keith left when the Athabaskan moaned for more. His hands gripped Keith’s hips tightly as he started to pound into the native, drawing out loud cries. Keith’s back bowed, shoving his ass further up into the air as he begged for more. Shiro grabbed hold of one of Keith’s legs and turned him into his side, putting the leg over his shoulder and held it close while straddling the other. Keith’s eyes widened at the sudden change, but soon closed them when the Asian began thrusting again, the new position making it easier to hit his spot and quite harshly at that.  
Keith’s talkativeness was gone as he too came closer to coming, only able to gasp and moan, voice a few octaves higher. His hair spread about him, almost cover his face completely and Shiro used a finger to move the long strands away from his mouth. Shiro could feel himself getting close and let the leg on his shoulder drop while allowing Keith to pull his other leg out from underneath him. He accidentally slipped out, but he quickly rectified that after wrapping the native’s legs around his waist and wrapped his arms around Keith, holding him close as he entered him once again.

“I’m gonna come,” Keith whines into his ear, filling it with sounds of pleasure.

“Me too,” Shiro groaned as he speed up his hips, the sound of flesh on flesh becoming faster. He reached between them to grab Keith’s prick and stroked him to completion.

Keith came with a cry, tightening his hold on Shiro, his seed covering both their bellies. The Asian followed with a groan and came inside, hips giving small jerks until he was spent. They laid there, holding each other, breathing heavily. Keith’s legs slid from Shiro’s hips and spread apart as he relaxed with the other still on top of him, skin tingling.

“I can’t breath,” Keith said with a small wheeze. He gasped when Shiro leaned up and pulled out with a whispered apology.

Shiro laid down beside him with a big goofy grin, eyes closed as he continued to catch his breath. “That was amazing.”

Keith snickered and rolled over to half lay on the Asian. “For a while there, I thought I was going to have to tell how to do every little thing before you finally took charge.”

“I told you I never done something like that,” Shiro grumped, but it was fake, knowing Keith was only teasing him harmlessly.

“Isn’t sex human instinct?”

“Well every man knows how to have sex with a woman and vise versa, but it’s different with a man wanting another man.” Shiro ran a hand along Keith’s back, eyes drooping as exhaustion filled him.

“You didn’t know how to have sex with a woman.” Keith laughed when Shiro began to protest.

“I had amnesia! I didn’t remember how to do a lot of things! And if the men at the bar didn’t speak so crudely all the time, I would never have known! Kinda wish I didn’t.”

Keith continued to laugh as he remembered the look on Shiro’s face when a drunkard began speaking quite loudly about his amazing night with some girl, leaving nothing out. Keith was used to it, but for Shiro at the time, it was his first. The way the Asian paled with wide eyes and slacked mouth was hilarious as the man talked about the girl’s lower region and breasts. It was good thing no one was paying attention to Shiro or he’d be the laughing stalk of the bar to this day.

“Its ok, I find your innocence adorable,” Keith said with a giggle.

“Not so innocent anymore.” Shiro gave a yawn and covered it with a hand.

Keith leaned up on an elbow and gave the Asian a look of lust. “No, certainly not.” The smirk he had disappeared when he saw the tiredness in the other’s eyes. “You’re still recovering. You should rest.”

Shiro’s eyes had closed by now and found himself unable to protest. “Maybe we can do this again when I wake up.”

Keith chuckled and grabbed a freshly washed and dried knitted blanket, covering Shiro with it. The Asian was out in seconds, snoring quietly. Keith took the time to clean himself, the cold water feeling good against his sore hole. Once clean, he slipped beneath the blanket and curled against Shiro, sleep taking a little longer to come to him. But he did eventually while watching the sun rise late in the morning.

A new chapter to their lives rising with it.

**Author's Note:**

> Enaa- Athabaskan for mother.
> 
> Akutaq- Eskimo ice cream made from reindeer fat or tallow, seal oil, freshly fallen snow or water, fresh berries, and sometimes ground fish.
> 
> Mukluks- boots made from animal hides and often decorated with beads.
> 
> Chin stripes- tattooes often given to those who reached maturity, mostly woman as a sign she is strong enough to handle childbirth. It's also dangerous because it can cause infection, sometimes resulting in death.


End file.
